News

LeJeune Steel was selected as the Structural Steel manufacturer and

February 13, 2006 - LeJeune Steel Company was selected as the structural steel fabricator and steel erector for the new Sears Centre arena, an 11,000-seat multi-purpose family entertainment, cultural and sports center.

The general contractor, Ryan Companies US, Inc. is responsible for the design and construction management of the new 62 million dollar arena which broke ground in late June 2005 and is scheduled to open October 2006.

Located in Hoffman Estates, a suburb of Chicago, IL., the Sears Centre will host more than 135 events each year and attract more than 750,000 visitors annually. It will be a significant boom to the area.

The Sears Centre is designed to accommodate a variety of events including concerts, family shows and sporting events. In addition to general seating, the Sears Centre has 43 luxury suites with two lounges on the private suite concourse and 1,000 club seats with a private club.LeJeune Steel played a significant part in overall structural engineering plan of the Sears Centre arena in addition to steel fabrication and erection. The project overall tonnage was in excess of 1,200 tons.

The Sears Centre arena contains six large trusses which are 26 feet deep and over 275 feet long. The trusses were shipped "knocked down" to the job site, then assembled in the parking lot. The steel erection was subcontracted out to Area Erectors who completed the full length truss pick and set in place.

LeJeune Steel completely designed the structural catwalk system, a separate level of framing in the rafters. The structural catwalk system allows easy access for lighting, sound system and other maintenance personnel.